Real
by Ereneth
Summary: This is an alternate ending of The Village that has the creatures being real. Tried to stay close to the movie as possible with the other events.UPDATED, next chap. 3 fragment. Now gone up to PG-13
1. Chapter 1

Real

Chapter I

**Ivy sat under the** tarp, the cold rain beating out a soft rhythm on the canvas, occasionally dripping through onto her. Pulling her cloak tighter, she huddled on the ground. The sounds of nocturnal birds filled the air, interlaced with the high screeches of bats. This was the coldest she had ever been in her life. It was so wet and the ground under the canvas was damp as well.

She decided that dwelling on her misery would do her no good, instead she listened to the sounds of the birds. She heard a noise; it was one of the creature-sounds the elders made. But why would the elders have come this far into the forest? As she listened they began to sound less and less like man-made instruments, and more like…animals. The voice of reason told her that it was fake, but her heart would not believe that.

She curled up tighter and pulled her hood over her ears. Sleep did not come for a long while...

**Noah half ran through** the undergrowth of Covington Woods. The suit was heavy, but he could still move well enough. His face still stung from where Ivy had hit him. What had he done? Lucius had been in the way that was all. He felt the side of his face, it was still raw; even his dull mind knew this meant their love was over.

It isoften amazinghow twisted even the simplest mind can become when given time to simmer over a fire of hatred. He had had plenty of time to dwell on this. She did not love him, she had to go away. He would make her go away, go away forever. He remembered the hide-and-seek, the races all of it. She _had_ been so nice to him, then she had left, and had gone after Lucius. Well, Lucius was no longer a problem, and she wouldn't be either when he found her.

He saw something up ahead, it wore the bad color...

**The first thing Ivy** was aware of was being cold. Her eyes opened and she saw the usual, darkness. she was very stiff, having slept in such a tight position. She stood and felt the tarp. It was frozen, completely frozen. She moved her fingers along the ropes, feeling for the knots. They were frozen as well. She began to fumble with them, they would not be untied. She began to try again, then she remembered Lucius. He was fading, she needed haste. She left the tarp behind.

Using the cane became increasingly difficult as the undergrowth grew thicker. She felt the branches twining around her as she went. Another step and the cane became tangled in a shrub. She reached out to grab it, but grabbed a thorny branch instead. She bit her lip at the initial pain, feeling the blood run down her hand. As a reflex she stuffed it into her dress-pocket to hide the bad color. But remembering it was a hoax, let her hand fall once again to her side.

She heard the stream beside her, so she had not lost her way. How much longer could it be till she reached the road? Thinking once again of Lucius she quickened her pace. She heard something off across the stream. It was another creature noise. _Those We Do Not Speak Of are fake_. She told herself, they had to be she had felt the suits. She had the confession of the elders, they were not real, if so why then did the noises still sound this far from the village?

She went faster, and tucked her bloodied hand into her pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

Real

Chapter 2

**EdwardWalker paced along **the border of the village. Ivy had been absent for more than a day, he could only hope she was not lost, or worse. Images of his daughter drowning or laying in the woods with a grievous wound haunted his mind. No matter how hard the tried the disturbing thoughts were difficult to dispel.

He walked under one of the watch towers; small pieces of yellow cloth dangled from the sides of the roof. He looked at the border, at the strips of the safe color hanging there as well. When Ivy came back safe, how long would it be before others began to venture into the woods? What would happen when they saw no creatures? When they saw it was a fake? Something entered the corner of his vision, something red.

It came closer, it had an odd walk. Indeed it resembled the suits, but he never remembered making one that looked like that. He walked closer to the border and called out to it. Whoever it was, this was not a good time, not in the middle of the day. It came through the undergrowth, staring at him. It made no reply to his greeting. It came up right to the border, and stared at him. He took a step back, confusion overwhelming him. He looked at it more closely; when making the suits they had been sure to make the seams difficult to find, but a trained eye could see them. But this one had no seams, this was not a suit. It gazed at the border, at the yellow banners, then turned, and walked back into the shadows of the trees.

_Ivy_, he thought of her in the forests. They were real, the creatures were real. _Ivy, what have I done?_ He almost ran back into the village. The skies were gray, and the rain had begun to fall. All of villagers made their way toward their houses. He saw a man, one of the elders about ten yards away. He ran up to the man, the panic evident in his voice.

"Assemble the elders, just the elders." He said, "We need to have a meeting, _now_."

**Noah stared at the **thing as it came slowly towards him. Half of him knew it was a suit, like what he wore, the other didn't know what to think. He thought about running away, but for some reason decided it would be best to go nearer. It did not seem to be very interested in him. Its back was turned and it did not even seem to notice him until he was an arm's length away.

It whirled around to face him. It stared at him for a long while, eyes pits of darkness in the face of what resembled a decayed ram. It sniffed the air around him, then focused on him again. Noah felt himself begin to panic, but he didn't know why. His legs wanted to run, to get him away as fast as he could, but instead he merely froze.

The thing raised it's clawed hand, reaching out toward him. It paused, claws just inches from his chest, undecided whether to slay him or not. Noah reached down for the knife, the one he was to use on Ivy. The creature's hand began to lower, it had decided to leave him be.

Then Noah pulled out the knife, and the creature changed its mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Real

Chapter 3

**Ivy continued caning her** way over the loose rocks of the stream-bank. The creature noise persisted, never getting closer but instead moving off to her left. _They, are, not, real!_ She tried to tell herself this over and over but to no avail, she was in a near-panicked state. She heard a splash somewhere far behind her. The odd growl issued again, no more than a stone's throw behind her. She left the rocky stream, once on level ground, she began to run.

Yet again, the sound came, chilling her blood and making her run faster. Her cane she held strait out in front of her. The sound came nearer, it was moving swiftly. Another cry arose as well, and this one was no more than fifty feet away. She had forgotten about the one on her left, but it had not forgotten her.

Her foot tangled in a small shrub, jerking her off her feet and sending her flying. She landed face first in the rotting leaves. Her cane lay under her, snapped in two. She began to rise, but then let herself fall again and lay still. The things were still coming, they might think her dead. She doubted this, but it was all she could do.

She heard the leaves rustle slightly, a footfall, it was coming. She tried to make her breaths shallower and less frequent. Another step closer it came. Every memory, every prayer, all of it flooded her mind like a great maelstrom of thought. Then, like a calm breeze, like the eye of a storm, came the thought of Lucius. All they had shared, all they might have shared. It would be so nice, if she could see him again.

Another footfall, it now stood over her.

"**Mr. Walker, there is **something you should see." He followed the elder out of the meeting house. Into the night air. "We don't know what it is yet, but it was left of the meat offering slab."

"Let us hasten then." Edward said.

"Yes."

"You did not look at it, to see what it was?"

"No, we arrived to see them bring it."

"Them?" Edward asked; he knew all too well what the man spoke of.

"Those-We-do-not-Speak-Of."

Edward looked up ahead. Something did indeed lie on the stone slab ahead of them. It appeared to be a heap of tattered rags; he could not yet make it out, as they were still a ways away. "They brought it earlier this morning." The man continued. "We saw them, it was like a procession. There were five of them…I think it's another warning."

There were now at the stone and he saw what it was. It was one of the suits. But it was not empty. "There is someone in it!" the man said. "We must get him out."

"That will be know use," said Edward, looking closer at the slab.

"What do you mean?"

"The man is dead." The stone was covered in blood. He moved closer. Most of it had dried, but the smaller pools remained moist. There were four holes in the chest, where claws had plunged into him.

Edward looked out into the forest, he saw blood on the leaves, where the body had been dragged. "The man was obviously trespassing in the woods…" he reached out for the mask. His handed hovered over the wolf's head. Did he want to know who it was? _They are real_; he pulled the mask away from the head. It was Noah.

Edward took a step back, heart reeling, vomit rising in his throat. Noah's face was a nasty thing to behold. His mouth was open wide in final pain; blood had erupted out pouring over half of his face. Eyes were rolled up until the whites were all that showed. "Get someone out here to take Noah to the cemetery. I will tell Mrs. Percy."


End file.
